CSALC-Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic
CSALC-Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic

Blog

05 Jul

Hoping the new attorney general does the right thing

What’s New
July 5, 2019
894

by Avvy Go

I hope Attorney General Doug Downey enjoyed the Canada Day long Weekend. I didn’t. I was too distraught to learn that my colleagues at the three workers’ rights legal clinics have to lay off staff, take a voluntary pay cut, stop taking new clients, or do all three just to keep their clinics afloat.

I was too devastated to see specialty clinics advocating for tenants’ rights, social assistance reform and for a clean environment get 25 per cent to 45 per cent cuts to their funding for no reasons other than being good at what they do.

I too am worried that come October, our clinic will not have enough money to pay rent and have to let staff go. I am not the only one who is concerned. Since hearing about our financial woes, a homeless client who has been coming to our clinic for help for two decades has been calling us everyday on a pay phone, with money she does not have, just to check if we are still opened.

Read the full article here

 

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